Improvement in tobacco-cutters



T. L. CHURCH.

Tobacco Cutter.

Patented Nov. 17. 1863.

Mrs STATES PATENT DEFICIT.

IM PROVEMENT IN TOBACCO-CUTT ERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,607; dated November17, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS I1. CHURCH, of

Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have inventeda new and Improved Tobacco-Knife; and I do hereby declare thatthefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan or top view of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same, the-lineg 3 Fig. 1, indicating the plane of section. Fig. 3 is a rear elevationof the same.

Similar letters of reference in the three views indicate correspondingparts. v

This invention consists in the employment or use, for the purpose ofsecuring a tobaccoknife to the stock or head, of a clamp consisting of aflat plate with stops, and secured by means of screws, and fastened downupon the knife by means of a cam in such a manner that a thin flat bladeof sheet-steel can be used for the knife, and that said knife can beinstantaneously fastened and released, and also set to the desired pointwithout trouble or loss of time.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed. to de scribe it.

A represents the stock or head of my knife, said stock being made in theordinary shape, of cast-iron or any other suitable material.

B is the knife-blade, which is made of a thin flat piece of sheet-steelsharpened at the front edge, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.This blade is placed loosely on the upper surface of the stock, and itis retained by a clamp, 0, wl1ich consists of a plate of iron secured tothe upper surface of the stock by screws a passing through it a littleinadvance of the middle of its width. The rear end of the clamp O isprovided with a stud, b, which may be adjustable by means ofascrew-thread, and the lower end of which rests upon the surface of acam, c. This cam is secured to an arbor, d, having one of its bearingsin the edge of the-stock, and its other bearing in a box, e, secured tosaid edge by means of screws f, and its end extends through said box,and

termined by-stops g, which are formed by hooks extending beyond thefront edge of the clamp.

Before the cam O is turned up, so as to secure the knife, thecutting-edge of the latter is pushed out until it bears against thehooks or stops and if, now, the cam is turned, up the knife cannot failto be in the proper position. The hooks 9 also serve to steady thecutting edge and to prevent it from springing or bend- By the employmentof the clamp C, I am enabled to use a thin piece of sheet metal of aneven thickness throughout for the knife,which can be readily cut out ofany sheet of steel of the required thickness, nothing being required butto harden it and grind the cutting-edge to the proper point.

The knife can be readily secured in the re-. quired position, and whenit becomes dull it can be taken out and sharpened and replaced with verylittle trouble or loss of time.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The employment or use of the clamp O, substantially such as hereinspecified, for the purpose of securing the knife-blade B to the stock A.

2. The cam c, in combination with the clamp O, knife-blade B, and stockA, all constructed and operating in the manner and for the purposesubstantially as herein specified.

3. The stops 9, in combination with the clamp O, knife B, and stock A,all arranged and operating as and for the purposes set forth.

THOS. L. CHURCH.

Witnesses:

R. H. PARKER, M. H. OHURorL By the action of the cam (if

